Printed circuit boards have come into increasing use in the electronics industry. Particularly with miniaturization, the need for high speed efficient and accurate processing of printed circuit board components has increased. Often the circuit board components start with a base sheet of insulating material which may have bound to one or both sides thereof a layer of copper. The case is often called a substrate and can take the form of epoxy, glass or various polymeric materials.
The processing steps on printed circuit board components are often carried out in conveyor apparatus along horizontal paths where various treating stations expose the board components to processing. These steps can be developing, rinsing-etching, rinsing-resist stripping-rinsing, black oxide coating, drying and the like.
Often apparatus for conveying and treating the printed circuit boards take up substantial manufacturing area space. Lines can run from ten to thirty feet in horizontal space. Problems sometimes arise in spray treating as in developing, etching, washing and stripping. The boards at stages of manufacture are often non-rigid and tend to wiggle when exposed to spray baths and the like. This can lead to non-uniformity in application of sprayed materials. Horizontally sprayed boards tend to puddle on the upper face while the lower face also tends to have non-uniform deposits formed thereon.